The population of Colombians living illegally in USA has continued to grow in recent years and today it is in the top 10 of the nationalities with the most undocumented migrants in this country.
According to the criteria of
That’s what a new report from the Institute for Migration Policy (MPI) which consolidated official statistics collected from both the Bureau for US Censushe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the agency for Customs and Border Protection (CPB).
According to the analysis, based on figures going through fiscal year 2022 (the most recent), At least 11.3 million people are believed to be living illegally in the United States.
From them, 237,000 would be Colombians. This figure places compatriots in ninth place among countries of origin. The list is headed, by far, by Mexicans, who represent 45 percent of the entire illegal population. They are followed by Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Indians, Venezuelans, Filipinos and Chinese.
The table, after Colombia, Brazil completes it.
In the specific case of compatriots, this is an increase of almost 40 percent compared to 2019, when a similar study was conducted. That year, the figure was around 171,000 undocumented immigrants.
Why could the figure be even higher?
According to projections made by MPI, and extrapolated from the most recent CPB statistics, that figure could be much higher today if the revenues recorded throughout the current years 2023 and 2024 are included.
In those two fiscal years, authorities have arrested nearly 300,000 people, more than double the number arrested in the previous three years (approximately 140,000 between 2020 and 2022).
Of course, not all of them have remained, as the United States expels a large number and others return voluntarily.But if the increase between 2019 and 2022 is taken as a base, that would translate into about 150,000 additional people, bringing the total number of undocumented people to almost 400,000.
At the top of the list, by far, are Mexicans, who represent 45 percent of the entire illegal population. They are followed by Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Indians, Venezuelans, Filipinos and Chinese.
In fact, in another study carried out by the MPI as input for the Colombian Embassy in Washington, the organization already estimated the undocumented population of Colombians at around 300,000 people (not counting those who have remained in 2024, where there have been 115,000 arrests).
In this same report, MPI estimated the Colombian diaspora population in the United States at 1,641,000 people, including documented and undocumented immigrants. Of these, 923,000 were born in Colombia and another 718,000 were born in the United States or other countries.
This makes the country’s citizens the sixth-largest diaspora living in the United States if only the Western Hemisphere is considered and the 24th largest when considering the rest of the world.
The statistics also reveal the impressive growth of this diaspora in recent decades. According to the report, it has grown from around 150,000 people in the 1980s to an estimated 923,000 by 2022.
Overall, and interestingly, MPI’s latest report also maintains that the illegal immigrant population in the United States has remained more or less stable in recent decades.
In 2019, for example, the official figure was around 11,000,000 people living illegally. In other words, there would only be an increase of 300,000 people compared to the last year evaluated (11,300,000 in 2022).
This is despite the fact that in those three years the authorities arrested more than six million individuals trying to enter the country illegally.
What are the reasons behind this data?
According to MPI, this discrepancy between the slight growth of the illegal population and the huge increase in people arriving at the border is related to two factors: on the one hand, deportations and, on the other, the voluntary return of citizens to their countries.
Something very noticeable among Mexicans, whose population in the United States has been systematically declining over the last 15 years. From reaching a peak of almost eight million in 2008 to 5.5 million registered (undocumented) in 2022.
According to MPI, this “reverse migration” has been partially offset by the flow from other countries such as Venezuela and Colombia, which have skyrocketed in recent years.
In the case of Colombians, there were around 10,000 people trying to enter illegally or requesting asylum in 2021, to more than 150,000 (average) for subsequent years.
And just as acute in relation to Venezuelans: 50,000 in 2021 to about 250,000 annually (average) between 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The report also reveals that a large majority of undocumented immigrants living in the United States (76 percent) are from Central and South America, followed by Asians (11 percent), Europeans (7 percent), Caribbeans (4 percent) and Africans (3 percent).
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
Correspondent for EL TIEMPO
Washington
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